 |
 |
|
|
| DEPARTMENTS | |||
|
|||
|
|||
|
|||
|
|||
|
|||
|
|||
|
|||
| YOU CAN!... | |||
|
|||
|
|||
|
|||
|
|||
| MORE ABOUT HUNGER NOTES |
|||
 |
|||
|
|||
|
|||
|
|||
|
|||
|
Global Issues: Harmful Economic Systems--the Major Barrier to Peoples' Welfare and Development
(Last updated May 20, 2008) The standard economic model of how things work is that people produce and exchange goods. Governments exist to provide “government goods”— things that people cannot provide for themselves, such as national defense. Thus the standard economic view is that activities are essentially productive. While this view has made for a thriving profession of economics, it is not a correct view of reality. The principal difficulty is that there is economic activity that is unproductive and harmful (from the point of view of those being harmed), and that this is a key feature of the economic organization of societies. What follows is a brief analytical description of these societies.
Many societies are run on this basic set of principals. Take and maintain control of the government. Use powers of the government to obtain income. Key elements of this process are described in five sections:
- Obtaining income
- Keeping people oppressed/preventing revolution
- Avoiding overthrow
- Restricting entry
A fifth section International aspects/imperialism discusses international aspects of harmful economic systems, which many would say is the key part of harm. A sixth section discusses the Impact on development. A final section Reducing harm gives a too brief discussion of what people are doing to improve matters.
The influence on development of poor nations is profound. For many governments, the government/people in the government, in spite of lip service to the contrary, are not principally engaged in helping the people of the country, but rather in helping themselves. This has had and continues to have a disastrous effect on development and the incomes of poor people. The final section of this article discusses this more fully. This article exists to provide an analytical framework to understand the situation and events in many countries, which, considered separately, may be confusing.
The basic idea and activity in productive societies is helping to produce goods— things that are useful to someone— food, light bulbs, cars— and then exchanging the income received for goods that are desirable to you. This fundamental economic mechanism exists in “harmful” economic societies as well. Unfortunately, also existing, and why we describe these societies as harmful, a certain strata— usually the top— also exists to obtain goods through means which may be described as unproductive or extractive.
The principal ways in which income is obtained in a harmful economic system are twofold: 1) obtain it through the government, or, 2) use the government to maintain, consolidate and increase sources of income that are (apparently) obtained in other ways. The first is most typical or at least most evident in developing countries. Armed conflict--typically the fight for control of the government or territory, frequently with natural resources, by groups deserves a separate discussion, because it has been throughout history the principal way in which harmful economic societies have been established and because of its importance in the world today.
There are a wide variety of means in which government officials and others obtain revenue from the government. The first thing to recognize is that people at the top of government, or those who have significant control over the government but who are not government officials--often entrepreneurs or corporations) can and do plunder resources coming into the government. Government revenue is often not devoted to productive services but siphoned off by those in control of the government. A nation expects that its national resources will be used for the benefit of the nation. However very large amounts of such revenue are often used to enrich those in charge of the government. People at lower levels of government can plunder resources too, by not providing services which they are paid to provide, by charging for services which they should provide, or by taking goods, such as medical supplies or automobiles/trucks, which should be used for government service.
Corruption. One name for a particular type of the unproductive allocation of resources is corruption.
Zambian ex-president Chiluba to face graft trial Reuters February 15, 2008
Perceived corruption in developing countries remains very high, 2007 Transparency International study shows Transparency International September 26, 2007 See the 2007 Corruption Perceptions Index (6 page PDF file)
Corruption can occur in various ways.
Government officials can get extra-official payments (frequently very large but also often very small) for carrying out, or not carrying out duties that they are paid for and obliged to perform as their duties as government officials.
Corruption undermining justice in many countries, Transparency International says BBC News May 24, 2007 (You will leave this site.) Link to TI's Global Corruption Report 2007: Corruption in Judicial Systems
Pay for little or no work. Another concern is that government officials receive pay without delivering (often anything near) an adequate level of services. What they have done is support the current political system, not deliver government services.
Allocation of resources. The government frequently allocates resources, such as land and other natural resources such as oil, and and business opportunities, directly to itself and its supporters.
A very large part of this allocation/corruption is diversion of revenues from goods exported from or imported to the country.
The big ticket item is natural resource exports, including oil. One would think that discovering oil and being able to export it would enable governments in developing countries to provide sufficient resources for assisting poor people in that country to have education and health services and to provide productive employment. NOT! In fact what HN has described as harmful economic systems mean that very little---a token amount-- gets to poor people.
\
This malnourished child was brought to a feeding center in Maradi in 2005. Photo: Edward Parsons/IRIN'Oil-rich' Nigeria’s malnourished throng to Niger’s feeding centers IRIN June 13, 2007 (You will leave this site.)
Elites obtaining resources from ordinary people has gone on throughout history.
There is also "private enterprise" harmful economic activity, where individuals, groups, and firms play a key role. Slavery would be an important example from the past. In the present, the term is "forced labor." An invaluable International Labor Organization report, Forced Labor describes the various types of forced labor. More than 12 million are trapped in forced labor worldwide. International Labor Organization
Crime and looting are examples of harmful economic activity in which poor people can participate. Crime, frequently a terrorist activity--using terror to obtain income ("your money or your life")--happens everywhere. Even legitimate governments such as in the United States typically deal only partially with crime. Many neighborhoods in the United States are subjugated to gangs that sell drugs, kill people, and maintain control of their activities through intimidation and murder.
Police have been operating in and around the slum since May. Rio authorities say more shanty towns will be targeted. Photo: BBC
Brazilian police attack drug gangs in Rio shanty town (drug gangs control about half of Rio's shanty towns) BBC News June 30, 2007 (You will leave this site.) War on Rio's drug gang slums BBC News June 28, 2007
Keeping People Oppressed/Preventing Revolution
In essence, there is part of the population that is living well because of their control of assets and people. The people whose assets and income have been reallocated don’t like this and thus there is the threat of revolution— overturning the minority in benefit of the majority. This is prevented in a number of ways.
One way is by killing or imprisoning opponents. Opponents of the government kill or capture people as well.
Supporters of Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change were taken by police from outside the headquarters of the MDC, in Harare, Zimbabwe, on Friday. Photo: Associated Press
Zimbabwe government arrests election monitors and opposition political party members Celia W. Dugger New York Times April 26, 2008 (You will leave this site.)
Killings on the campaign trail: 50 Guatemalan candidates, activists have died in run-up to election Manuel Roig-Franzia Washington Post September 9, 2007 (You will leave this site and be required to register [once] with the Post.)
Red Cross recovers 11 bodies of Colombian legislators killed by rebels BBC News September 9, 2007 (You will leave this site.)
Jailed policeman accuses former South Africa president De Klerk of ordering murders of anti-apartheid activists Mohammed Allie BBC News July 27, 2007 (You will leave this site.)
Mr. Chen campaigned against official abuses. Photo: AP
Blind Chinese human rights activist beaten in jail where he is imprisoned BBC News June 21, 2007 (You will leave this site.) Access to Hunger Notes by Chinese citizens is blocked by the government of China, evidently because of our publication of articles concerning rural people, like the one above. To see if a website is blocked, see the Great Firewall of China's site http://www.greatfirewallofchina.org/test/
A classic way is through force.
Musharraf's military reaches deep into Pakistani society Griff Witte Washington Post June 27, 2007 (You will leave this site and be required to register [once] with the Post.)
Military force is often employed in clandestine ways.
A man places photographs of people murdered or missing, allegedly because of paramilitary groups, on the fence of the Costa Rican Embassy in Bogota, Colombia. Photo: William Fernando Martinez/Associated Press
Cousin of Colombia's president arrested in death squad probe Juan Forero Washington Post April 23, 2008 (You will leave this site, be required to register once with the Post, and thereafter sign in using your email address.)
Paramilitary ties to elite in Colombia are detailed: commanders cite state complicity in violent movement Juan Forero Washington Post May 22, 2007 (You will leave this site and be required to register [once] with the Post.)
One favorite way of maintaining oppression is to stay in power for a long time, frequently by manipulating or subverting an ostensibly democratic legal framework. Election fraud/rigged elections is a principal way of staying in power. A second way— certainly a very clear way— of keeping people oppressed and unable to move to a situation that might be characterized as democratic, is terrorizing the subject population, including murder and torture. Especially important is killing leaders of the subject population(s) or otherwise keeping them from being a source of unrest (by such means as imprisonment, exile, or bribery).
The delay in Kenyan vote results has sparked disorder on the streets. Photo: AFP
Kenya's opposition leader Raila Odinga calls on President Mwai Kibaki to admit defeat in national elections and accuses him of electoral fraud BBC News December 30, 2007 (You will leave this site.) Kenyans vote in tight race BBC News December 28, 2007
Zimbabwe is a country where its President, Robert Mugabe, has used various means to stay in power for a long time. See Zimbabwe stories
There are two powerful ways of changing a harmful economic system--through revolution, or through democracy. Revolution has been the most common way to attempt to do so in the past--though frequently thwarted by successful opposition by the existing government and its allies or by a revolutionary movement evolving into an oppressive government. Currently the most frequently used method is by democratic change. See the further discussion under Reducing harm below.
This is very similar to preventing revolution. However, what is emphasized in this section is preventing overthrow by others who would maintain a structure of harm. There are two important issue areas:
-
the struggle for control of the government
-
how is a structure of harm maintained?
The struggle for control of the government
Armed Conflict. There are many examples of armed conflict in the world today. Examined more closely this conflict is typically over control of the government or specific territory--often territory with natural resources. Thus this conflict is over who will establish control over government/territory and subsequently over control over resources, including the power to tax, arrange oil leases, and so on. In conflict, in addition to the struggle for control over resources, there is typically great harm done to ordinary people, such as murder, amputation of limbs, rape, taking of family food and other resources. (This can be so bad that an end to conflict, even if it then means establishment of an organized system of oppression, is preferable to people.)
Revolution against an unjust government (see section above) also causes conflict. It is often difficult to decide if armed conflict is a way to gain resources, or a reasonable reaction against injustice, or a reasonable reaction by government to what is viewed as dismemberment of its territory. This in a particular circumstance is usually debatable, however it is possible to form an opinion based on the evidence. Were severe human rights violations in Bosnia, or Rwanda and Burundi justified for example? Who is correct, the government of Sudan or the people of Darfur? What is the current conflict in Somalia about?
Armed conflict is ongoing in Sudan, principally in its Darfur region. The conflict has multiple roots and extends to Chad and the Central African Republic. Making sense of Chad by Alex de Waal (February 7, 2008) does a good job of describing the roots of the regional conflict. Also see Hunger Notes section Darfur on this region for further 2008.a and Chad.
The conflict in Somalia also has ethnic and multi-country roots. See Hunger Notes section on Somalia.
How is a structure of harm maintained?
A key way is by controlling sources of wealth and then distributing the resulting income. Those who are responsible for maintaining the structure of power get paid.
Sanctions on businessman target Syria's inner sanctum Robin Wright Washington Post February 22, 2008 (You will leave this site, be required to register once with the Post and thereafter sign in using your email address.)
Guinea: Soldiers warn of more protests if demands not met. (Troops want the government to give them 300 billion CFA francs (US$77 million) President Conte allegedly promised them to end their 1996 mutiny! For now, soldiers pillage the citizenry.) IRIN August 17, 2007 (You will leave this site.)
ANGOLA: From politics of disorder to politics of democratization? Steve Kibble April 23, 2006 An excellent article from last year that describes how Angola continues divided into two parts by political and economic interests--in spite of words to the contrary by the politicians.
Clearing the path for the 'Scion of Egypt': Hosni Mubarak's son climbs party ranks as country's leaders undercut his rivals Daniel Williams Washington Post March 10, 2006 (You will leave this site and be required to register [once] with the Post.)
Countries have "elites" and people.
Here is a description of Sudan's elite. Sudan's Unbowed, Unbroken Inner Circle Emily Wax Washington Post May 3, 2005 (You will leave this site and be required to register [once] with the Post.)
A major barrier to entry is limiting access to worthwhile employment, as well as other social advantages such as education and ability to marry outside of one's class.
A 'broken people' in booming India: low-caste Dalits still face prejudice, grinding poverty Emily Wax Washington Post June 21, 2007 (You will leave this site and be required to register [once] with the Post.)
African-American Names Penalized During Employment Process, Study Finds Richard Morin Washington Post, August 3, 2003. (You will leave this site and be required to register [once] with the Post.)
Other barriers to entry are lack of education, poor health, not being sufficiently 'presentable'--all 'natural' barriers that arise from poverty.
Stopping intellectual genocide in African universities Prince Kum'a Ndumbe III University of Yaoundé, Cameroon July 18, 2007
Another way is "putting people down." Typically minorities/ordinary people have been disparaged in some way--for their supposed (lack of) intelligence, personal appearance or for some other reason. People can be marginalized because of their skin color, ethnic origin, income level or indications of same, such as names This diminishes people's sense of self-worth, and, combined with actual labor market discrimination based on the same sort of factors, is a major barrier to entry. There has been a reaction against this in many ways in many countries, but it still persists.
Ethnic pageants restyle the American beauty contest Robertha Budy heard the insult when she was a little girl, and now, even at Georgia State University in Atlanta, she still hears it. "You're Liberian? Isn't that in Africa? You don't look like it. You're pretty." Darryl Fears Washington Post October 19, 2005 (You will leave this site and be required to register [once] with the Post.)
International aspects/imperialism
There are major international aspects to harmful economic systems. In fact many would say that international aspects are the most important. In order to focus attention on these international aspects, we mention these aspects in a separate section. However international aspects could as well have been included in specific sections above.
The politics of United States aid in Venezuela Tom Barry Americas Program, Center for International Policy August 7, 2007
Iran and Nicaragua in barter deal. US has warned Nicaragua that closer ties with Iran could harm its relation with Washington BBC News August 5, 2007 (You will leave this site.)
Enabling the Indonesian military Conn Hallinan Foreign Policy In Focus July 18, 2007
US military involvement in Africa exists and is increasing.
Mali
US military plane hit by Tuareg gunfire in Mali while supplying government troops The Independent September 14, 2007
Somalia
U.S. government links to Somali government warlords and to the Ethiopian invasion of Somalia BBC News June 18, 2007 (You will leave this site.) U.S. troops went into Somalia after raid. No top targets confirmed dead. Stephanie McCrummen Washington Post January 12, 2007 (You will leave this site and be required to register [once] with the Post.) Somalia at the crossroads (commentary) Harun Hassan January 13, 2007 Somali Capital Awash in Anger At Ethiopia, U.S., Interim Leaders Stephanie McCrummen Washington Post January 11, 2007 U.S. air strike in Somalia targets Al-Qaeda figure Karen DeYoung Washington Post January 9, 2007 Ethiopia urged to leave Somalia BBC News December 27, 2006 (You will leave this site.) SOMALIA: Continuing fighting forces hundreds more to flee homes IRIN December 21, 2006 (You will leave this site.) Somalis 'at war' with Ethiopia BBC News December 13, 2006 (You will leave this site.)
Analysis
Africom: the new US military command for Africa Daniel Volman African Security Research Project November 15, 2007 See Africom's home page
The new military frontier: Africa Frida Berrigan Foreign Policy in Focus September 18, 2007
AFRICOM: wrong for Liberia, disastrous for Africa Ezekiel Pajibo and Emira Woods Foreign Policy in Focus July 26, 2007
Into Africa Conn Hallinan Foreign Policy In Focus March 15, 2007
U.S. military assistance for Africa: a better solution James Jay Carafano and Nile Gardiner Heritage Foundation October 15, 2003
Corruption as a form of gaining income for international firms is described in the Lynch article.
U.N. Panel Says 2,400 Firms Paid Bribes to Iraq. Oil-for-Food Program Report Alleges $1.8 Billion in Payments Colum Lynch Washington Post October 28, 2005 (You will leave this site and be required to register [once] with the Post.) Oil-for-food scandal: key reports BBC News (You will leave this site.)
The Bond article presents the idea that resource wealth has been taken from Africans to the benefit of developed countries.
Dispossessing Africa's Wealth Patrick Bond November 24, 2005
"The question as to who and what is responsible for African underdevelopment can be answered at two levels. Firstly, the answer is that the operation of the imperialist system bears major responsibility for African economic retardation by draining African wealth and by making it impossible to develop more rapidly the resources of the continent."
The impact on development of harmful economic systems has been enormous. Try to think about some of the consequences of what has been described above. They include war, continued devastation over centuries, and control of the government and productive resources, that have left hundreds of millions confronting starvation, while those who "govern" and "own" live very well. A recipe for disaster! And we should not blame the victims--poor people across the world. Rather we should think about how we can help them.
War War, caused by armed groups seeking to control the government, or territory or resources, has devastated vast regions of the world, and more importantly, vast numbers of the people of the world.
Fifteen years of conflicts have cost Africa around $300 billion--equal to the amount of international aid received Oxfam International October 12, 2007 See the full Oxfam study
Where is there major armed conflict now? These countries include Iraq, Afghanistan, Sudan, Somalia, and Israel/Palestine. Where has there been major conflict in the past which has abated (in varying degrees), but which has still greatly affected the society and its progress? The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, Mozambique, Liberia, Rwanda, Burundi, Sri Lanka, Peru, El Salvador, Guatemala, Northern Uganda, and Colombia--to name a few. Governments, including tax collection, essential public services, and a fair judiciary, are not easily reestablished after a war (if they ever were established in the first place).
How many people live lives of greatly diminished productivity (and happiness) due to conflict!
Unruly and often violent youth have set up illegal road blocks on several roads in the Rift Valley and western Kenya. Violence against local minorities including Kikuyus, Luos or Kalenjins, depending on the region of Kenya, has displaced an estimated 600,000 Kenyans to this point. Photo: IRIN
Some 600,000 displaced in Kenya BBC News February 11, 2008 (You will leave this site.) The Mungiki and other Kenyan armed groups profit from chaos Josphat Makori BBC News February 8, 2008 Violence slowing down humanitarian effort IRIN February 5, 2008 (You will leave this site.) (You will leave this site.)
Sudan survivors answer your questions Amber Henshaw BBC News October 26, 2007 (You will leave this site.)
Armed Conflicts Now the Leading Cause of Hunger Emergencies, FAO Says (May 23, 2005) See also the excellent earlier study by Messer, Cohen and D'Costa Armed Conflict and Hunger.
Continued Devastation over Centuries
The past five centuries or so have seen considerable hardship for the people living in many (now often past) societies. Africans may be taken as a key example
The people of Africa--Sub-Saharan Africa-- have been injured greatly by the operation of the world economic/political system. This can be divided into three parts, slavery, "classical" imperialism, and the modern world.
Slavery. How many slaves were taken from Africa? What kind of social system--in Africa and in the world--permitted them to be taken? (Under what circumstances would you give your daughter or son up to slavery And if the answer is never--what circumstances would make your answer irrelevant?) Slavery and the accompanying social system imposed on Africa began in the 1600s and continued until the late 19th century and, to some extent, even today.
Imperialism. In addition of course to slavery there was a dividing up of the whole continent by England, France, Belgium, Spain, Portugal and Germany. Why should this be allowed! Well of course it was, due to superior arms and organization, not to mention control of the relevant international organizations which "sanctioned" such things. So the people of the continent spent 100 plus years benefiting these developed nations through such means as exporting resources--gold, diamonds, and metals.
Contemporary Africa. For a discussion of how structures of harm have continued, see The influence of ideas and the power relationships that lead to those ideas on development in Africa Issa G. Shivji Pambazuka News October 22, 2005
There has been a struggle for thousands of years by human beings in many different ways against the sort of subjugation described above. To name just one very important example, the world's religions have worked to establish a set of principles for human relationships that were very much against oppression, and though the religions were persecuted for doing so, they did manage to establish at the very least a set of guidelines for human behavior. In all countries of the world there has been a struggle against injustice, and attempts, which have met with increasing success, to establish the societal frameworks for a more just and equitable society. This is a long (and inspiring) story which we cannot recount here. The current efforts in the world to reduce harm include reducing corruption, moving to more democratic governments with established rights and processes (by means such as reducing the influence of the military and improving the fairness of elections--and having them! and reducing police brutality), and, internationally, reducing the advantages which developed nations have assigned to themselves through their control of international institutions, such as United Nations, the World Bank, and the World Trade Organization.
In recent years, there have been important efforts to have elections that express the will of the people and to implement policies that reflect an electoral mandate. Nations are evolving from power structures that have been based on some combination of military, economic and political control to ones that reflect the wishes of the (often very poor) people. This evolution has not been easy. One publication that attempts to track this evolution is Freedom House's annual survey. Survey finds world freedom reduced in 2007 with one-fifth of countries showing declines Freedom House January 18, 2008
Five countries covered in somewhat more detail here include Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Nigeria.
The countries of Latin America are countries where a minority have, since the Colonial period, controlled the government and sources of income and wealth. Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador are three countries where dissatisfaction with government policies has led to voters installing more populist governments. (Others include Brazil, Argentina, and Peru.) These governments are now under severe strain as they have tried to implement policies favoring the majority.
South America's constitutional battles Monte Reel Washington Post January 18, 2008 (You will leave this site, be required to register once with the Post and thereafter sign in using your email address.)
The policies of the previous governments of these countries (and many others, including Brazil and Argentina) have been described as 'neo-liberal,' meaning ones that
-
keep the economic structure of the country intact, meaning a very high degree of income going to the rich, and a high degree of assets (such as land, factories, and stock) owned by the rich
-
emphasize private enterprise (as noted above, owned by the rich)
-
'free' trade (which in practice has meant dismantling of developing country trade barriers while keeping key developed country trade barriers), and
-
restrictions on government spending relative to government income (typically imposed by the IMF and the World Bank, as these countries owed money to the Fund and the Bank, and thus were under obligation to them) to help provide country economic stability.
The citizens of a country own the national resources of the country. (This may be difficult for people in the United States to understand, given that the United States has typically given these rights away to individuals and corporations in the United States.) Examples include land, mineral rights (the right to extract what lies under the land--a somewhat strange concept, as it divides up land rights, but nonetheless, one that exists in U.S. law), and the broadcast (radio, TV, and other communications) spectrum. One important issue is that these governments are attempting to improve the benefit that citizens receive from these rights.
Venezuela 'to tax oil windfall' BBC News April 3, 2008 (You will leave this site.)
Exxon Mobil acts to freeze Venezuelan oil assets; Venezuela denies full freeze BBC News February 8, 2008 (You will leave this site.)
Suitcase of cash tangles US, Venezuela and Argentina in intrigue Simon Romero and Alexei Barronuevo New York Times January 9, 2008 (You will leave this site.
Chavez defeated over reform vote BBC News December 2, 2007 (You will leave this site.) Voting ends on Venezuela reforms BBC News December 2, 2007 Old allies abandon Chavez as constitution vote nears Juan Forero Washington Post November 29, 2007 (You will leave this site and be required to register [once] with the Post.) More Venezuela stories
Bolivians to hold confidence vote on their president as he struggles to enact reform against wishes of people in some resource-rich regions of Bolivia BBC News May 9, 2008 (You will leave this site.)
Court slows Bolivian reform BBC News March 8, 2008 (You will leave this site.)
Wealthy neighbors need Bolivia's gas Monte Reel Washington Post February 10, 2008 (You will leave this site, be required to register once with the Post and thereafter sign in using your email address.)
Bolivia tense amid autonomy push BBC News December 15, 2007 (You will leave this site.) Bolivian assembly approves new draft constitution; to be considered by voters next year BBC News December 9, 2007 (You will leave this site.) Bolivian President Morales calls for a referendum on whether he and the country's nine regional governors should stay in office BBC News December 6, 2007 (You will leave this site.) Six of Bolivia's nine provinces hold a one-day strike against a new draft constitution BBC News November 29, 2007 (You will leave this site.)
Ecuador’s leader purges military and moves to expel American base Simon Romero New York Times April 21 2008 (You will leave this site.) Ecuador plans foreign bases ban, ending US base there BBC News April 2, 2008 (You will leave this site.) More military aid stories
Ecuador throws down oil gauntlet Jane Monahan BBC News December 13, 2007 (You will leave this site.)
Harmful economic systems 2007 (last year's version of this page)